Aussie small business in need of a holiday

More than half of Australian small business owners find it difficult to take time off work, according to new research.

mitchell

December 07, 2015

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A recent small business survey conducted by cloud accounting provider Xero has revealed that 55 per cent of small business owners struggle to take time off work, whilst 38 per cent prefer to work through the summer holidays.

The survey examined the behaviour of small business owners during the Christmas holiday period, and the technology that they utilise within their respective organisations.

Alarmingly, for 57 per cent of Australian small business owners, it's been more than a year since their last holiday, with a further 23 per cent revealing that their last holiday came over two years ago.

"We already knew that small business owners are hard workers, but the fact that almost a quarter haven't taken a holiday in over two years is quite concerning," said Chris Ridd, managing director of Xero Australia.

Forty-two per cent of overworked owners feel compelled to be available at all times as they are the sole decision maker within the business, while almost one third (32 per cent) of respondents confessed that they are unable to relax if they don't know what's going on in their business.

Mr Ridd proposed that a greater use of technology could potentially help ease the minds of a plethora of small business owners.

"There are plenty of tools to help small businesses manage their business and work remotely if need be, allowing them to check in on their business with the click of a button, no matter where they are," Mr Ridd stated.

"Having the ability to know what's going on in your business whilst you're away can lead to greater peace of mind, giving business owners more incentive to take time off from work."